Finance: Pay and Pensions

Yes, reasonable data roaming costs for work related expenses whilst travelling on University business can be claimed but they are taxable expenses. When the claim is paid your project code will be charged an additional amount of around 59% for tax.  Data roaming charges for streaming will not be reimbursed.

Data charges for work related activities should not be incurred by staff whilst abroad on holiday.

The University’s policy is that the purchase of laptops and IT equipment is permitted only via published procurement channels and is not a permitted expense claim. 

Re-imbursement for such items via expenses is considered a taxable benefit on which tax is due at a tax rate of between 50-95%, therefore purchasing equipment in this manner is extremely costly to the University.  Where such items are claimed via expenses, the budget holder and Head of College Finance would need to factor the significant additional tax charge as the relevant project code will be charged the additional amount for tax, and therefore approve in only the most exceptional circumstances.  All other routes to obtain necessary IT equipment must be explored in the first instance.

No, such purchases are not permitted via expenses.  As per the Hybrid Working FAQs, “no homeworking or equivalent allowance is available due to the non-contractual nature of hybrid working. Colleagues should discuss any equipment requirements with their line manager and an appropriate on campus workstation should always be available if required.”

No, for events held on campus, colleagues should use the University’s internal catering facilities. If this is not possible, select a University approved supplier from the contracts register and raise a purchase order for the supplier.  If an event is held off campus, use the catering services provided by the selected venue.

Travel should be booked in accordance with the University’s Travel Booking Policy, available on the Procurement Office webpage.

The University Supplier for ALL domestic and international travel, and other travel related requirements is: Selective Travel Management.  Selective Travel Management has provided a self-booking online Travel Hub portal for all bookings inclusive of Air, Rail and Accommodation for both domestic and international travel. The travel Hub portal also provides the advantage of instant booking confirmations and eliminates the need to raise a Purchase Order.  The online booking tool is simple to use and the quickest way for you to book travel. All travel bookings can be made online however, if your travel request is not available via the online Travel Hub booking platform or if your travel requirement is complex, please contact Selective Travel Management direct who have a dedicated team that will support your travel booking request(s).  All University business travel requirements to be booked through the appointed provider. In the event that Selective Travel Management cannot provide a solution to your travel requirement please contact the Procurement team who will provide guidance and support.

In all cases, the use of Airbnb, or similar, is prohibited, and accommodation should only be sourced from regulated providers.  The University has a duty of care to staff and students whilst they are travelling on University business, and these considerations must be applied in sourcing all accommodation.

Subscriptions for software or licenses are not permitted via expenses.

In the first instance you should contact the University’s IT Services  and your School/Department’s local IT services, to check if the software is permissible and whether the University already has a license for a particular type of software. If required to purchase software and/or license subscriptions, these should be paid by purchase order via the relevant supplier.

No, the University’s policy is that subscriptions for professional memberships are not paid by the University. 

When using a car for business purposes, you must first consider whether the use of a private vehicle is in accordance with the University’s Guidance for Sustainable Business Travel for Staff and Postgraduate Researchers.

If an employee wishes to claim mileage on their car, they will need to register their car on PeopleXD. This is found on the employee dashboard.

All details will need to be input correctly for the car to be approved and to ensure the employee receives the correct mileage rate.

The following details include:

• Vehicle registration
• Vehicle make/model
• Date of registration
• Engine capacity (CC), EG. If the car is 1.3L, 1300 cc. If unsure, this can be found on DVLA website
• Fuel type
• Insurance details
• License type/expiry

When selecting the approver, you can select any of the possible approvers in the drop-down menu.

Once your car is registered, you will still need to submit a mileage claim for each approved trip.

No, if you are relocating to Glasgow for this job, relocation expenses may be agreed with HR as part of your employment package at the discretion of the hiring department.  Such payments are not claimed via the expenses, if approved, payments are processed via Payroll as an Additional Payment, upon instruction from the HR onboarding team, and any tax due on these will be applied via payroll.

No, payment of work visa renewals cannot be claimed via expenses. Where visa fees are approved, such payments are processed as an Additional Payment via Payroll, acting upon instruction from a School or Department’s HR team.

No, you cannot claim clothing for work purposes. Where clothing is required, the University will provide branded clothing for doing your job, through University approved suppliers.

Approving Managers must first refer to Section 27 of the Expenses Policy for full information.  Clothing purchased in respect of performance of an employee’s duties which is not ‘safety equipment’ e.g. high vis jacket, or does not have the University’s logo on it, is a taxable benefit on which tax is due at a tax rate of between 50-95%.

This would depend on the purpose of the event. If the event is purely social, then there will be a benefit-in-kind charge levied on the department. Please refer to Section 26 of the Expenses Policy for full policy information.

The following table will help you to establish whether a meal or drinks is subsistence, staff entertaining or business entertaining.

No, when purchasing goods or services for the University, other than the exceptional items listed under Q13, reservation and/or payment for goods or service using personal means on behalf of the University is strictly prohibited, you will not be reimbursed.  You must never ask another member of staff to pay a supplier personally as they will also be unable to claim via expenses or sundry payment.  Please refer to the financial regulations and procurement policies for further guidance.

To emphasise, if you pay a third party who is providing goods or services to the University, you will not be reimbursed.

The primary purpose of the expenses policy and process is to reimburse staff for relevant costs while travelling on University business.

No, such payments cannot be reimbursed via expenses, the expenses policy relates only to expenses incurred in the course of your employment.  If you are providing a product or service to the University, this cannot be claimed via expenses.  Instead, payment is processed as a supplier for the service you are providing.  Please refer to the New Supplier Process, and the Conflicts of Interest Policy.

No, vouchers for any purpose must be purchased via the University supplier Love2shop per the procurement link below.  Reimbursement of vouchers is not permitted via expenses.

University of Glasgow - MyGlasgow - Procurement Office - Purchasing & Corporate Cards - Amazon Business Account

For payments for research participants, refer to the Research Participant Payment Guideance.

The following is a list of examples of items which are not permitted to be claimed via expenses.  This list is not exhaustive, staff and managers must refer to the expenses policy and FAQ’s above prior to purchase/payment or approval.

• Reservation or hiring of external venues
• Course/conference fees
• Journal submission fees
• Image reproduction fees and licences
• Computer accessories, cables, chargers, adaptors, USB’s, etc.
• Gifts - where approved must be obtained, for example, from the Visitor Centre using a purchase order
• General equipment, tools, cleaning products, etc.
• Office decorations
• SIM cards
• Research/study books (refer to Manager/Study Sponsor)
• Competition prizes (for Students or otherwise)
• Stationery – must be obtained via central departmental supplies, expenses policy allows only for small operational items e.g. stamps, notebooks (not including research/study books)